HELENA - Marijuana once again will be an issue at the Legislature, with a number of bills anticipated, from possibly decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of pot to banning medical marijuana. "I wanted to do a legalization of marijuana bill, but I don't have the energy," Sen. Mary Caferro, D-Helena, said. Caferro said she's more likely to sponsor legislation to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Asked why she supports these approaches, Caferro said: "Because our prisons are full of people that don't belong there." [continues 906 words]
HELENA - A Billings businessman has proposed an initiative for the November 2014 ballot that effectively would ban the possession, use, cultivation, trafficking and transportation of marijuana in Montana. Steve Zabawa submitted the measure this week to Secretary of State Linda McCulloch's office. If approved, it would change state law to say that any drug listed on Schedule 1 of the Federal Controlled Substances Act "may not be legally possessed, received, transferred, manufactured, cultivated, trafficked, transported or used in Montana." Marijuana is listed on Schedule 1 of the Controlled Substances Act. [continues 469 words]
HELENA Medical marijuana advocates are making a final try this legislative session to amend the 2011 law that imposed tighter restrictions on what was then a booming industry here. Sen. Dave Wanzenried, D-Missoula, recently introduced Senate Bill 377 for a group called Montana Association for Rights. No hearing date has been set yet. The bill has been assigned to the Senate Business and Labor Committee, but he hopes to get it moved to the Judiciary Committee. SB377 may face long odds for passage because it expands the 2011 medical marijuana law in some ways. [continues 808 words]
HELENA - So far, the 2013 Montana Legislature appears to be no more receptive to medical marijuana than the 2011 session was. The House Human Services Committee on Friday tabled and almost certainly killed four medical marijuana bills by Rep. Kelly McCarthy, D-Billings. The bills all died on 12-4 votes, with 10 Republicans and two Democrats opposing the bills, while four Democrats backed them. McCarthy's bills were intended to fix the 2011 medical marijuana law, Senate Bill 423, which has been challenged in court. He tried to remove those provisions in the law that District Judge James Reynolds of Helena has twice blocked with preliminary injunctions, most recently in January. [continues 520 words]
HELENA --- So far, the 2013 Legislature appears to be no more receptive to medical marijuana than the 2011 session was. The House Human Services Committee on Friday tabled --- and almost certainly killed -- four medical-marijuana bills by Rep. Kelly McCarthy, D-Billings. The bills all died on 12-4 votes, with 10 Republicans and two Democrats opposing the bills, while four Democrats backed them. McCarthy's bills were intended to fix the 2011 medical-marijuana law, Senate Bill 423, which has been challenged in court. He tried to remove those provisions in the law that District Judge James Reynolds of Helena has twice blocked with preliminary injunctions, most recently in January. [continues 520 words]
Montana Marijuana Advocates Look to Colorado, Washington HELENA A district judge on Thursday temporarily continued to stop the state from enforcing certain restrictions in a 2011 state law aimed at medical marijuana providers. After a two-hour hearing, District Judge James Reynolds of Helena extended his temporary restraining order at the request of James Goetz, the Bozeman attorney representing the Montana Cannabis Industry Association and others. His order continues to block two 2011 restrictions from being enforced one limiting medical marijuana providers to three patients apiece and the other forbidding providers from being paid by patient for pot. [continues 639 words]
Montana voters support the more restrictive medical marijuana law and strongly back a ballot issue requiring girls under age 16 to get parental consent before having an abortion, a new Lee Newspapers poll shows. They also favor another ballot issue that would deny state services to "illegal aliens." Mason Dixon Polling & Research Inc. took the poll Monday through Wednesday for Lee Newspapers, interviewing 625 registered voters who said they were likely to vote in November. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points, although the margin rises with subgroups like gender. [continues 669 words]
VOTERS FAVOR NEW MARIJUANA LAW, 44% TO 31% HELENA - Montana voters support the more restrictive medical marijuana law and strongly back a ballot issue requiring girls under age 16 to get parental consent before having an abortion, a new Gazette State Poll shows. They also favor another ballot issue that would deny state services to "illegal aliens." Mason Dixon Polling & Research Inc. took the poll Monday through Wednesday for the Gazette State Bureau, interviewing 625 registered voters who said they were likely to vote in November. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points, although the margin rises with subgroups like gender. [continues 671 words]
HELENA - Montana voters support the more restrictive medical marijuana law and strongly back a ballot issue requiring girls under age 16 to get parental consent before having an abortion, a new Lee Newspapers poll shows. They also favor another ballot issue that would deny state services to "illegal aliens." Mason Dixon Polling & Research Inc. took the poll Monday through Wednesday for Lee Newspapers, interviewing 625 registered voters who said they were likely to vote in November. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, although the margin rises with subgroups like gender. [continues 669 words]
HELENA -- There is no fundamental right for patients to use any drug, particularly one like medical marijuana that's illegal under federal law, the Montana Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, in reversing a lower court decision. In a victory for the state, the Supreme Court's 6-1 decision reversed a District Court's temporary injunction that blocked enforcement of part of a 2011 state law that sought to restrict access to medical marijuana. "In pursuing one's health, an individual has a fundamental right to obtain and reject medical treatment," Justice Michael Wheat wrote for the majority. "But, this right does not extend to give a patient a fundamental right to use any drug, regardless of its legality." [continues 706 words]
HELENA -- The number of medical-marijuana cardholders registered with the state rose slightly in August, new statistics from the state registry showed. As of last Friday, 8,849 Montanans had medical-marijuana cards, an increase of five people from the previous month, according to the registry kept by the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. The July total of 8,844 medical-marijuana cardholders was the first time since May 2011 that the number of cardholders had increased. The number of Montana medical-marijuana cardholders, formerly called "patients," peaked at 31,522 in May 2011. [continues 536 words]
HELENA - For the first time in more than a year, the number of registered medical marijuana cardholders in Montana increased last month, although slightly. As of July 31, Montana had 8,844 registered medical marijuana cardholders, according to the Medical Marijuana Program in the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. That's 163 more than the 8,681 registered at the end of June. It's the first monthly increase in medical marijuana cardholder numbers since May 2011, when the monthly totals rose to 31,522 from 30,609. [continues 706 words]
HELENA - For the first time in more than a year, the number of registered medical marijuana cardholders in Montana increased last month, although slightly. As of July 31, Montana had 8,844 registered medical marijuana cardholders, according to the Medical Marijuana Program in the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. That's 163 more than the 8, 681 registered at the end of June. It's the first monthly increase in medical marijuana cardholder numbers since May 2011, when the monthly totals rose to 31,522 from 30,609. [continues 623 words]
Montana Supreme Court justices on Wednesday wrestled with the legal issue of whether people have a fundamental, constitutional right to sell medical marijuana, which is legal under state law, but illegal under federal law. A state attorney urged the Supreme Court to reverse a lower-court ruling that struck down part of the law, passed by the 2011 Legislature, that in essence banned the commercial sales of medical marijuana. Assistant Attorney General James Molloy said state District Judge James Reynolds of Helena used the wrong legal standard in blocking that part of the law that forbids any payment to those growing medical marijuana. [continues 748 words]
HELENA Montana Supreme Court justices on Wednesday wrestled with the legal issue of whether people have a fundamental, constitutional right to sell medical marijuana, which is legal under state law, but illegal under federal law. A state attorney urged the Supreme Court to reverse a lower-court ruling that struck down part of the law, passed by the 2011 Legislature, that in essence banned the commercial sales of medical marijuana. Assistant Attorney General James Molloy said state District Judge James Reynolds, of Helena, used the wrong legal standard in blocking that part of the law that forbids any payment to those growing medical marijuana. [continues 749 words]
HELENA - The Montana Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday on separate appeals filed by a medical marijuana industry group and the state of Montana. They are appealing separate portions of a 2011 District Court decision that temporarily blocked parts of a much stricter 2011 state law from being implemented. The court will hear the case of Montana Cannabis Industry Association and others against the state at 9:30 a.m. in the court's chambers on the third floor of the Justice and State Library Building, 215 N. Sanders. [continues 641 words]
The Montana Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday on separate appeals filed by a medical marijuana industry group and the state of Montana. They are appealing separate portions of a 2011 District Court decision that temporarily blocked parts of a much stricter 2011 state law from being implemented. The court will hear the case of Montana Cannabis Industry Association and others against the state at 9:30 a.m. in the court's chambers on the third floor of the Justice and State Library Building, 215 N. Sanders. [continues 642 words]
The number of medical marijuana cardholders in Montana continues to plummet, while the number of legal marijuana providers is a fraction of its peak, as the industry faces an uncertain future here. The 2011 Legislature passed of a much more restrictive law, Senate Bill 423, which has reduced these numbers. Then there were several dozen federal raids of medical marijuana growing operations, along with the arrests and convictions of some owners. The combination of the new law and the federal raids has put a damper on the once-booming industry here, officials say. [continues 1309 words]
HELENA-The number of medical marijuana cardholders in Montana continues to plummet, while the number of legal marijuana providers is a fraction of its peak, as the industry faces an uncertain future here. The 2011 Legislature passed of a much more restrictive law, Senate Bill 423, which has reduced these numbers. Then there were several dozen federal raids of medical marijuana growing operations, along with the arrests and convictions of some owners. The combination of the new law and the federal raids has put a damper on the once-booming industry here, officials say. [continues 1310 words]
